Midterm Project Blog Post: Maze Mechanism Game Box
For our midterm project, we took on the challenge of creating an interactive maze game box based on mechanical movements inspired by 507 Mechanical Movements. Our design features a maze with two main mechanisms: a circular gear to adjust the maze’s rotation and a rack-and-pinion system for linear movement. While our final model didn’t achieve full functionality, the journey was rich in learning, testing, and iterative design. Here’s a breakdown of our process and reflections on the challenges we encountered.
Project Concept & Design
Our goal was to build a maze game that users could manipulate to navigate a ball through a path, controlled by:
• Circular Gear Mechanism: Designed to rotate the maze itself, allowing the user to change the maze’s orientation.
• Rack and Pinion Mechanism: Intended to move the ball linearly along the maze, enhancing the control for players navigating the ball.
Design & Prototyping Process
1. Brainstorming & Ideation: We started by considering various interactive models, settling on a maze game due to its simple mechanics and engaging potential.
2. Modeling in Rhino: Our next step was to digitally model the entire game box in Rhino, designing multiple layers to stack together. The layers included specific cutouts for the mechanisms and the ball path.
3. Laser Cut Files in Adobe Illustrator: After modeling, we exported cut files to Adobe Illustrator to prepare them for laser cutting. This involved meticulous layer planning to ensure alignment of the circular plates and the holes for our mechanisms.
4. Prototype Testing & Challenges:
• Measurement Adjustments: One of the biggest challenges we faced was finding the right measurements for the holes that connect each plate. Our initial cuts didn’t align properly, leading us to resize and re-cut the plates multiple times—ultimately going through five iterations before we found measurements that fit well.
• Material Limitations: We used 1/8” plywood to create our layers and doubled it for extra durability. However, aligning these layers precisely proved challenging, which affected the functionality and stability of our intended design.
5. Assembly Difficulties:
• Unfortunately, our model faced significant obstacles during assembly. Despite our efforts, the components did not align well enough for smooth operation. This led to a non-functional final model, as the mechanisms could not move as intended.
Budget Breakdown
Our budget for the maze mechanism game box included the following costs: two sheets of 1/8” plywood at $15, one bottle of adhesive for press-fit assembly at $5, a set of rack and pinion gears for $10, and two hours of laser cutting services costing $20. Additionally, we estimated around 10 hours of labor, totaling $150. This brought our overall project cost to approximately $200.
Reflection & Lessons Learned
This project taught us valuable lessons about the importance of precise measurements and the patience needed for iterative design. Although our final model didn’t achieve functionality, we learned from our challenges with assembly and alignment, and gained hands-on experience in using Rhino for mechanical design and Adobe Illustrator for laser cutting files. This experience has shown us the value of prototyping and troubleshooting and has prepared us to tackle future projects with even greater resilience and adaptability.
